


Taking Hold

by kara-lesbihonest (mxfivespot)



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Balcony Scene, Boss/Employee Relationship, Cat knows Kara is Supergirl, F/F, Oneshot, Power Dynamics, Praise Kink, Tension, Unresolved Sexual Tension, cape tugging, cape!kink, collarbones, dom!cat, praise!kink, sub!Kara, supercat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-20
Updated: 2016-02-21
Packaged: 2018-05-22 01:43:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6065935
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mxfivespot/pseuds/kara-lesbihonest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>For the first time in their professional relationship, Kara slips and admits she needs something - she needs reassurance from the one person who hates giving it. Cat weighs her options, then takes hold of the situation.</p>
<p>Conflicted but confident Cat. Emotionally desperate Kara. Pre-relationship Supercat. 100% praise!kink.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Grip

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to my own #trashbin support system, but particularly lisheqsue, fictorium and stealthvag for their helpful edits on this one.

There were a lot of reasons Cat chose to drink, but tonight it was irritation. Kara’s words crawled under her skin and she didn’t know why, so she drank. She stood on her balcony staring nobly off into the distance, the twinkling city lights an annoyingly pretty backdrop to her sour mood.

 _“Please, just once... can you tell me that I did a good job?”_ she’d asked. _“I need…”_ Kara looked frightened then, and she stopped herself. _“I need it.”_

The desperation and vulnerability on her face set off a domino effect within Cat. First it was rejection, because she was Cat Grant and she didn’t do _anything_ on command. Then it toppled over into confusion - why on earth was Kara asking this? Why was she asking it of _Cat_ of all people? Finally the whole thing tumbled into her current irritation and itchiness and a sensation that she absolutely did not want to label.

It was something she hadn’t felt in a long time, and its tendrils whispered along the inside of her ribcage. It was the driving force behind her every acquisition and conquest. She felt it in her chest when she beat out other bidders for a new piece of art at auction, or when she fired someone just because she could.

That wisp in her lungs was the harbinger of freshly ignited power. It was her deepest addiction and tonight, surely without realizing what she was doing, Kara had tossed a gallon of gasoline on the embers.

Cat was certain Kara had not meant to utter the words “I need.” In all the time she’d known Kara, Cat could not recall a single time Kara admitted to needing _anything_. She collected Cat’s own needs like trading cards: hot latte, rescheduled appointment, xanax, silence. She tucked them away and tended to them like a twisted garden. But Kara never, ever had any needs of her own.

In fact, it was a key tenet of their mutual stronghold.

Cat knew Kara hadn’t intended to utter those words because she knew they would unequivocally alter the terms of their professional arrangement. Everything Cat broadcasted into their shared emotional space thus far told Kara that if she had even a single need of her own, the scales would tip and that slight dip would put them closer to “equal” than Cat wanted.

But Kara was only - well, almost - human. Now Cat had a choice. She could indulge her love of this game, and in turn, indulge Kara... or she could fire her and pour cold water over the ignited flames in her chest.

As she was weighing her options and downing the last of her bourbon, the object of her thoughts fluttered into her eye line and floated down onto her balcony. She looked a little rough, but nothing terrible - a few smudges of soot, or maybe desert dust, marred her perfect features. Cat turned to face her and kept her expression tightly controlled. Kara fidgeted - a habit Cat would very much like to break.

And there it was, starting already; her sharp mind and her penchant for control were already scheming together in concert. She knew if she allowed those thoughts to slip through unchecked, that little quirk would not be the only part of Kara she fantasized about breaking.

“Miss Grant, I’m sorry about earlier,” Kara began. She glanced sideways at Cat as she walked past her quickly and took a seat on the outdoor sofa. She was leaning forward with her elbows on her knees, her hands clasping and unclasping in front of her as she spoke. Her cape was draped alongside her like a blood-red throw. “I was stressed, and I took it out on you, and I shouldn’t have done that,” she continued, and looked up to meet Cat’s eyes briefly.

Cat narrowed hers, unforgiving. Kara looked at the ground.

“Anyway, I’m sorry,” she said, and she started to stand.

“Kara, sit.”

She felt as though it wasn’t her own voice coming out of her mouth - it came from somewhere else, the hollow underneath her throat where the wisp of power lived. Kara sat back down and her fear bled into the night air. Cat could almost smell it. That, she would like to fix. Fear was not her goal in this scenario, especially not now, when beginnings were so ripe with possibilities.

She set her glass down on the edge of the balcony and strode over to Kara. Cat stood staring down at her, Kara’s face upturned now in awe or arousal or fear, or maybe a heady combination of all three.

Better.

Kara’s cape was still occupying Cat’s rightful place on the other side of the love seat. Without thinking about the consequences of her actions, Cat gathered up the material in one hand and held it tightly in her fist as she sat down. She laid it across her lap, but she didn’t let it go. Kara dropped her face into her hands and said nothing.

“Kara,” Cat said, but she didn’t look up. “Kara!” she said again, a little firmer this time, and she shocked both of them by lifting the hand gripping Kara’s cape and giving it a sharp, unmistakable tug.

It was fast - no more than the blink of an eye, but its potential lit up the air around them. Kara’s head snapped up at near inhuman speed, her eyes wide and full of something complicated.

“When I speak to you, I expect you to answer me,” Cat said softly. Kara nodded.

“I’m sorry, Miss Grant.”

Cat transferred the fisted fabric from her right hand to her left and let it rest against her knee. Her intention to remain in control of Kara was clear. She then slid her right hand all the way up the smooth, thick material until she gripped it tightly right at Kara’s shoulder. Kara stared, her breathing shallow and her gaze fixed on Cat’s face.

“Is this alright, the way I’m holding you now?” Cat asked casually, as if she were asking Kara what she wanted for lunch. The column of Kara’s throat throbbed as she nodded slowly.

Cat used her grip on the cape to hold Kara absolutely still for her next question.

“You told me earlier that you needed something. I’d like you to ask for it again.”

Kara’s eyes darted down to Cat’s hand clutching her cape against her knee, then to her own feet, then nervously to Cat’s face.

“I shouldn’t have… I shouldn’t have asked for that,” Kara said.

“That’s not what I asked you, Kara,” Cat said. The name had the desired effect. Kara went almost limp, and finally Cat felt some slack in the cape as Kara leaned imperceptibly closer.

Kara took a deep breath and let it out too quickly. “I asked for you to tell me I did a good job,” she said. Color flooded her cheeks and she couldn’t meet Cat’s eyes.

“That’s what I thought you said,” Cat answered, amusement lightening her tone briefly. “It may have been better for us both if you’d never told me what you wanted. But now that I _do_ know about that particular… _need_ ,” she said, and she paused. Kara was still not looking at her. She gave the cape another sharp tug and Kara melted in front of her, finally turning to face her as she spoke. “I’m willing to consider some terms for meeting it. When I deem it appropriate, of course.”

Kara’s mouth dropped open in shock, but she recovered quickly and now there was arousal laced in the quick purse of her lips. She pressed her legs together beneath her red skirt and Cat felt a very satisfied smirk begin to form.

She turned on all of her charm then, and it felt like taking out a Ferrari on a coastal drive after being stuck in rush hour in a Prius. Cat crossed her legs toward her, angling her hips sharply. She pulled the cape gently, bringing her closer slowly, ever so slowly. She brushed blond waves from Kara’s shoulder and leaned in until her mouth was barely brushing the shell of her ear. She pressed her breasts against Kara’s arm just purposefully enough for her intent to be obvious. Kara clenched her hands into white-knuckled fists as Cat began to speak in a soft, rough whisper from somewhere in that deep place inside her where her secrets grew like a wildfire in summer.

Kara shivered at the sensation of Cat’s breath in her ear.

“You’ll listen carefully to every word I’m about to say, because I won’t repeat myself,” Cat said, and she paused for emphasis. “I saw on the news what you did today. I saw you save all those people. I was so proud, standing there in my office alone, thinking about you. Thinking about all the strength it must take, all the effort and concentration. I was so impressed, thinking about all the things your body can do,” Cat said.

Kara let out a quiet whimper and Cat grinned, her eyes alight with joy at the effect she was having. This was the most satisfying rush of her life. Kara could move away from her grip at any time, flick her cape out of Cat’s hands like it was nothing. But here she sat, willingly snared. Trapped, but only because she wanted to be.

Cat spoke excruciatingly slowly now.

“I couldn’t stop watching you today. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. And you did a _magnificent_ job today, Kara.” Cat punctuated her final whispers with a light nuzzle of her nose against Kara’s ear, then paused to let the praise sink in. She wanted it to seep through the suit, through the sunny exterior to that cold place inside where praise so rarely landed. Cat held her fast until it hit home. She could see it change Kara’s face, softening all her tension. Only then did she issue a final request.

“Now, if you’d like, you may kiss me. Right here,” Cat said, and she placed a fingertip on her own collarbone, just visible under the open first button of her blouse. “We haven’t discussed any boundaries, so if you don’t want to, you’re free to say no and there will be no consequences.”

Before she even finished speaking, Kara lowered her head and nosed open her shirt without thinking, kissing her collarbone, long and hot and impossibly desperate for a closed-mouthed kiss.

“Perfect, Kara. That’s enough. Now we’re done for today,” Cat said, and eased Kara back into an upright position. It took every ounce of strength she had. She dropped the cape to the sofa and stood.

“Go home and rest. We’ll speak more before we do this again,” Cat said. With that, she buttoned the top button of her shirt and tore herself away from Kara’s gaze. She walked through the door of her office, willing herself not to look back.


	2. The Clutch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kara does some praiseworthy things to Cat.
> 
> Cat "barely-remaining-in-control" Grant. Kara "Is this what you want, Cat?" Danvers. Pre-relationship Supercat. 100% praise!kink.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to my own #trashbin support system, but particularly lisheqsue, fictorium, winters-discontent and stealthvag for their helpful edits on this one.

Kara lingered on her skin and in her thoughts. In the ensuing days, Kara also lingered in her doorway and near her desk, and she followed behind closer than usual as they navigated the halls between meetings. Kara stepped up her efforts to be silently perfect, but she was clearly exhausted. Her need for Cat’s acknowledgment was easily telegraphed across the minimal space between them.

_This is what happens when you get greedy and take things without setting limits first_ , Cat chastised herself.

“Kara,” Cat spoke firmly through her office door. Kara came running.

“Yes Miss Grant?”

Cat couldn’t think of a good segue, but one of the many benefits of her position was that she didn’t have to.

“What happened the other night, did you enjoy it?” Cat set down a pile of folders and crossed her arms over her chest, jutted out her hip, and waited.

Kara’s eyes were wide and her pupils were already blown. Cat smiled when she saw Kara’s hands go slack around the iPad she held. She walked around the desk slowly as if she might startle Kara out of this dark spell with any sudden movement. Kara, to her credit, held her ground.

“It’s alright Kara, you can answer honestly,” she said, her voice pouring into the room like warm honey and slowing everything down. “In fact, I expect you to.”

Cat felt an unmistakable thrill that even the mere hint of a command was enough to pull the truth from Kara’s grasp. “I um… yes, Miss Grant. I did,” she answered. Her gaze darted around and she pushed her glasses up needlessly.

“Would you like it to happen again-”

“Yes,” she answered breathily and much too quickly, then she seemed to remember herself and glanced back to make sure no one was listening.

“Yes what?” Cat asked sharply.

“Yes… _please_ , Miss Grant,” Kara said, and as their eyes met, Cat could tell this power in her throat was going to rise up and consume her before this was done.

* * *

“Mmm,” Cat hummed in approval. She was holding court and Kara was paying homage; Cat had her arms spread out fully on either side of her and her head was thrown back against the couch. Her glasses were flung aside, her eyes closed, her breathing deep and purposeful. Cat was trying to remain in control as Kara sat draped sideways across her lap, kissing and licking the hollow of her throat to the rhythm of Cat’s very specific instruction.

“Like this?” Kara asked quietly, her voice soft but potent in the rising heat of the room. “Is this what you want, Cat?” She lifted her mouth from Cat’s skin and paused with her hand just barely skimming beneath the collar of her shirt.

They were moving achingly slowly, which Cat preferred. She paused for a moment to consider the question. Coming from anyone else, it might sound like cloying sweetness or overt innuendo. From Kara’s lips it was pure innocence, though Cat admitted her current position should eliminate that particular word from the realm of possibility. Either way, Kara truly did need to hear that she was doing exactly what Cat desired.

Cat stroked a reassuring hand along Kara’s outer thigh. “Yes, kitten, you’re doing very well.” The new pet name slipped from Cat’s mouth without conscious effort, but Kara’s eyes got deliciously hazy at its use. Kara slid her hand further inside Cat’s shirt to ghost across her collarbones and gasped at the contact before lowering her mouth to her pulse point once more.

Two buttons of her silk blouse were already undone, and they’d only just started. They’d agreed beforehand that Kara was not to touch the buttons unless told to, and she wouldn’t be allowed more than three buttons undone no matter what the circumstances. Cat was already close to breaking her own rule, but consistency was key in this.

Kara tilted her head to rest it on her shoulder for a moment and looked up at Cat’s face. “More?” she asked without a hint of cockiness.

“Yes, you can keep going,” Cat told her. Cat felt her chest fill with something warm and expansive as the vague approval lit up her eyes and she tilted her head down again.

Starting with the left collarbone, Kara parted her pink lips and flattened her tongue across the skin there. She dragged a slow, tortuous lick from the base of Cat’s throat up nearly to her shoulder, then slid back across the top and firmed her tongue into a soft point as she dipped it into the hollow just above the bone. Cat dropped her head back in pleasure, so Kara repeated the action, dipping her tongue into the soft little depression over and over, swirling it against taut skin.

Kara broke her trance and looked up at her momentarily with pleading eyes. “Cat, please?” She glanced down at the rumpled shirt. “Please, may I have the third button?”

Though Kara was sitting there in front of her awaiting orders, it was Cat who was completely ensnared.

“Go ahead,” she acquiesced, and Kara carefully flicked open the third button of her shirt, exposing only the most frustrating hint of black satin. She stared in reverence at Cat’s new offering.

“Suck,” Cat commanded. Kara immediately fluttered her eyes closed and pressed her lips to the ridge of her collarbone. She sucked gently, drawing the skin ever so slightly into her mouth. She released Cat, drew in a satisfied breath through her nose, and shifted imperceptibly closer. Her breasts brushed against Cat’s ribs with each movement, building a tension so thick Cat thought she might drown in it. She took up another spot closer to Cat’s throat and sucked again, leaving tiny little bruises.

As the trail of marks extended across the plane of Cat’s chest, her grip against Kara’s thigh tightened and her other hand clutched the cushion in silent response. When Kara paused for another breath, Cat caught her shifting her thighs restlessly beneath her skirt.

“Did you want something, Kara?” Cat said sharply.

“I want what you want, Miss Grant,” she answered on instinct. She nuzzled her face under Cat’s jaw, licking her neck softly in between gentle nips with her teeth.

Cat was utterly lost. Kara’s attention was like a half-conquered addiction - a drug she no longer thought of on a daily basis, but when faced with it alone in a dark room, she was unable to refuse. Cat felt like she was floating outside of her body, watching Kara worship her with a complete disregard for the usual barriers of shame or guilt or whatever modicum of decency that normally kept one person from another. She felt untethered.

“That’s a good girl, Kara,” Cat said. “Good girl. That’s enough. That’s enough for a minute.”

She threaded her hand in Kara’s hair and pulled her away gently. Kara looked stricken.

“You’re not being punished, Kara,” Cat said quickly. “I want to look at you properly when I tell you _why_ you’re a good girl.”

Kara bit her lip gently, clenching her fingers into fists. She stared at Cat’s face, her expression so open and trusting.

Suddenly that lonely wisp of power within Cat felt more solid, more real. It made her feel more connected instead of distant. She tapped Kara’s right arm.

“Up,” she commanded. Kara hesitated at the ambiguous command, loathe to break their contact. With a little smile, Cat rolled her eyes and amended her request.

“Stand up.”

Kara swung her legs off of the couch and stood.

“Use both hands to hike up your skirt. Slowly.” Kara didn’t hesitate for a second before she reached down and grasped the hem of her tight floral pencil skirt on either side of her. In a slow shimmy, she shifted it up her legs until Cat told her to stop.

“Now put one knee on either side of my hips and straddle my lap. Keep your hands on your skirt so they don’t wander.” Kara let out a shuddering sigh as she spread her legs to sink down onto Cat’s lap, her hands inching the skirt even higher. Cat eyed her inquisitively.

“You’d like to show me more?” she asked. Kara couldn’t find it in her to speak, but she nodded. “Go ahead then,” Cat said, and she crossed her arms in front of her chest expectantly. She hoped it expressed confidence, but she suspected she was about to need help keeping her own hands from straying.

Kara’s chest rose and fell with a ragged breath as she lifted a bit to inch the skirt further up her thighs until it sat bunched at her hips, exposing her underwear to Cat’s gaze. She was absolutely soaked beyond Cat’s wildest expectation; Kara was dripping onto her lap through her underwear.

Finally, Kara looked up into Cat’s face. “I just,” Kara said meekly. “I just wanted you to see. What this does.” Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes, whether in sexual frustration or the fading embarrassment she probably felt at the admission, Cat could not be sure. Cat tore her eyes away from the evidence of her arousal and held Kara’s face gently in her hands.

“That’s perfect Kara, hold that right there. I love that you’re so wet for me,” she said softly. “Now listen carefully, please. Are you paying attention?”

“Yes, Miss Grant, yes,” Kara nearly sobbed. Her thighs were trembling and her fingers were like vice grips on the hem of her skirt. Cat briefly wondered if she was going to tear the material. She was unexpectedly wracked with emotion at the thought of how much strength Kara held in check to follow her every command to perfection. In that moment, the weight of her situation slammed against her; it was like a wave crashing into a battered storm wall that was finally ready to give way. She realized she didn’t just want to praise Kara to fulfill her need. Cat wanted to praise her to satisfy her own.

“You’ve done such a perfect job following my instructions today. And not just in here, with your mouth, which was wonderful. You were excellent in the board meeting today. You were prepared and capable and competent. You were… irreplaceable.”

Kara’s breathing was ragged again, and though she was smiling, a single tear escaped her lashes and splashed against the black fabric covering Cat’s hip.

Cat was close to coming undone, slipping out of a place of control and into something else entirely. She dragged her gaze across Kara’s bare thighs down to her pink underwear, soaking wet and ruined. She looked at Kara’s hands, so tightly wound, holding her skirt so Cat could see her. Kara had asked for only one thing, and it was to expose herself like this, to show Cat that she was ruined, beautifully and perfectly ruined right in front of her. Ruined _for_ her.

Kara’s tears were the last straw. Cat’s control broke and she leaned forward suddenly. She put one hand behind her on the couch to brace herself as she sat up. She reached out her other hand and flattened it against the small of Kara’s back as she pressed her stomach into Kara’s core. The second they made contact, Kara spread her legs impossibly wider, opening her hips, and without intention or self-control, she came instantly with a strangled cry against Cat’s body, and they were lost together.


End file.
